Cyril Bondi, Erika Nieva Cunha, Julie Semoroz, Emma Souharse: Boxing Noise

After a period when the Swiss Insub label was not very active, it is a pleasure to report that Boxing Noise features one of Insub's main driving forces, Cyril Bondi, on drums, which he has played since the mid 1990s. The album was recorded live at Cave 12, Geneva, and Bikini Test, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, from 22nd to 25th June 2021. It is released on twelve-inch vinyl or as a Bandcamp download, by the Humus label which was formed in 2012.

Below the album title, the LP's front cover says "A sound performance by/with Cyril Bondi, Erika Nieva Cunha, Julie Semoroz and Emma Souharse." Bandcamp helpfully explains that "Boxing Noise was initiated during a carte blanche at Cave 12 in 2021. The four artists developed their project during a research residency at Bikini Test and in collaboration with boxers from local clubs." Those collaborations shed some light on the album title, the album's track titles, "Warm Up," "Round 1" and "Stretching," as well as Erika Nieva Cunha's credit as "boxing coach."

As the YouTube track below illustrates, Bondi's drumming, Semoroz's voice and electronics, and Souharce's synth and electronics blend together well throughout the album's thirty-nine minutes, with Bondi's drumming giving each track a steady rhythm throughout, one which is doubtless suitable for boxers to train to. (The album's playing time, which is short by some standards, is necessary to fit the tracks on LP. The Bandcamp download, Special *** Boxing Noise Workout Session, has a fifty minute playing time).

Although from the music of the album it is not entirely clear what role boxing coach Erika Nieva Cunha played, the album notes do illustrate the part played by the public at live gigs: "Through a participatory sound performance with a suspended boxing bag that has been fitted with a microphone, a section of the public is invited to take part in the live act of performing a movement or a sound and of modulating a space between the inside and the outside..." Such consideration for the public serves to illustrate why Boxing Noise has been well received at several festivals and boxing clubs. Despite the links with it, those who are not familiar with or interested in boxing can safely listen to and enjoy this music in its own right.

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